Arts Law aims to help First Nations artists maintain the copyright of their works
Crawford & Company has announced the raffling of the original artwork featured on the cover of its inaugural Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP), released earlier this month. All of the money raised will go straight to the Arts Law Centre of Australia.
“Having a RAP is about truly making a difference, making an impact within our sphere of influence, and for us, that starts immediately with our fundraising efforts for Arts Law,” said Angela Fitzpatrick, head of key account management at Crawford, an independent claims management company with an office in Southbank, Victoria.
Arts Law – a not-for-profit, independent, and national community legal centre for the arts – offers free or low-cost specialised legal advice, education, and resources to Australian artists and arts organisations across all art forms on various arts-related legal and business matters.
The Artists in the Black program at Arts Law provides targeted services to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists across the country. It aims to assist First Nations artists in maintaining their artwork’s copyright, in understanding their rights, and in creating legally-binding wills that protect their work’s cultural and financial legacy in the future.
“RAPs are important because they form the framework and leave an undeniable marker within an organisation that it must evolve and do better by First Nations peoples,” said Jonathan Hubbard, Crawford Australia president, in the company’s media release.
This year, Crawford commissioned Tim Buckley, a First Nations artist at Rareland Studio, to create a piece called “Flourishing Futures” specifically for the cover of its new RAP. His artwork is meant to represent the reconciliation journey ahead, according to the RAP.
Buckley, a Mununjali/Yugambeh man, explained that the linework was intended to represent “the dynamism and movement of the journey and the natural flow of life, of which we are all a part.”
The artwork, created with acrylic on canvas, measures 90cm by 60cm.
“The dots represent individual entities and when grouped together they represent teams, collective learning and growth,” Buckley said in the RAP. “The amorphous shapes and forms represent diverse landscapes where employees live, work and play. These are the places and spaces where meaningful change occurs, building respect.”
Those interested can purchase raffle tickets at $50 each through Arts Law’s website. The raffle will close at 12pm on 22 November, Friday, and will be drawn on 25 November, Monday. The website will be releasing the raffle results.
